N4G is a Cesspool

Admin note: I have censored the inappropriate language and reapproved this submission. Please note that bad language usage applies to all forms of written communication on N4G. Thank you, Christopher

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I have thought this for sometime. I have been visiting this site for several years now, and the comments sections of articles have just gotten worse and worse. This is abundantly clear when you wade knee-deep into the excrement that is an article about the Battlefield V faux controversy over women in a World War II shooter.

People claiming "DICE is shoving an SJW agenda down our throats", and you WILL read some variation of that comment, have become way too prevalent. They push that narrative as if they know that it is fact, when in actuality, they have no idea what they are talking about. Highly inappropriate comments that drip with ignorant sexism have become rampant. You will get the occasional user that wants to try and discuss things logically, but the majority of the time, they are met with replies of "LOL SJW BS don't belong in muh garmz!!!1!!1!!! Get out of her you *******!"

It is absolutely sickening. If moderators do exist on this site for the comment sections, they either aren't doing their job well, or their aren't enough of them.

The content approval system needs to change as well. I like the fact that articles that site anonymous sources to report on rumors aren't allowable. That at least presents some semblance of integrity. However, that is far outweighed by the articles that get approved that are obvious flamebait, clickbait, or are extremely poorly written.

N4G has the potential to be a really good video games news site, but if it ever wants to reach that potential, then the current approach to the site needs to change.

Maybe people don't want to play as female characters in video games as much as you do? I never play as one when I have the opportunity to choose - and there are other games that I've chosen not to play because of who the main character is.

Yea BF5 looks awesome to me and a ton of fun. I don't get the backlash and it can only be the Star Wars Super Nerds who are made about Battlefront 2 and lootboxes trying to continue that crusade into BF5.

Stay out of my game if you don't like it......go complain elswhere.

don't like it...don't buy it.....but also don't talk about it either.

Some people are only 100% negative and it's just annoying and exhausting to be around.

Nobody likes being around a whiner and complainer and that includes online as well.

Enjoy the game for what it is as we don't have many like it.

How many other FPS games do we get that are 64 players and of high quality and fun to play? Not many.

All the people complaining about women in the game are those who don't have many close female relationships and probably haven't been with a women in a long time.

I agree with some of your sentiment, but can't shake the fact that this seems like a veiled attempt to virtue signal. The BF5 "controversy" is a complex issue that isn't black or white in any sense, you don't have the right answer & neither do the people you despise.

WW2 is a sensitive subject, millions of people lost their lives for Christ sake. To claim that the only reason someone can have a problem with women with cyberpunk arms saving people in a WW2 setting.... It because they're a sexist is beyond shallow & downright ignorant.

Women played a very important role in WW2, an yes in some minor situations they even headed to front-line combat when forced to by Stalin on threat of worse than death. Hell I'm sure some even went out of patriotic duty.

An yes this is a game, it isn't bound by real life rules & history. An hell I prefer women in my video games. But to claim that the only reason you'd have a problem with a British women with a cyberpunk arm being shown as the hero of WW2... Is because you're a sexist. It's an insult to your intelligence & mine.

'how much I despise the majority of the gaming community.' I think your getting carried away here, somehow in the same way most people can get carried away into hate. This is the internet and not representative of the gaming community. You know the internet give a chance for a minority of loud jerks to be making an impact. I totally agree with the blog and in particular with the last part which I feel should be our main concern. The content needs to improve. Just an example the other day I was saying a very interesting video about Days Gone was ignored in approval for a long time while stupid clickbaits were coming through in minutes. fact is people don't seem to understand their outrage is being manipulated into rewarding articles prompting this outrage and it s N4G fault for pushing this Gamingbolt is also an example of how uninteresting articles get to be N4G bread and butter

I stay away from the "SJW" stuff because i simply do not understand people's blind outrage for including a female presence in games. I remember when Lost Legacy came out and people were outraged that two females might be featured in a game. People were attacking Neil, it was embarrassing. I actually like the BFV situation, women in a WII game is a completely new direction and i like innovation. Aloy was a bad ass huntress , there is great potential for strong female characters. But at the same time i despise the new design for Lara Croft, it just goes too far from Lara's roots. I just feel as though game developers should make games and build characters according to what they feel is best for the project. People should accept the creative vision. There is room for both anime styled female characters and strong female leads, this SJW nonsense is just overhyped garbage that gets in the way.

I'm not concerned about what other people want to play as. I'm explaining my point of view on games, and giving insight as to perhaps why some people choose to complain about it.

I don't complain about it. If I see a game with a main character I have no interest in playing, I ignore it and move on. I don't go to the internet and demand that the developers answer for this, or request a character sex/race change. I just don't play the game.

I was defending the notion of N4G being a cesspool - it's a collection of gamers with passionate feelings about games, consoles, PCs, developers, publishers and manufacturers. To label this community as a disgusting place is purely ignorant on behalf of Parasyte.

I also 100% agree with Skull. Make as great of a game you can, with compelling and interesting characters and don't defend your choices with trigger words like "inclusive" - because it makes it clear that you have no original ideas and are just pandering to a social justice movement.

Agreed, I don't actually call myself a gamer anymore even though I've been hardcore gamer for 35 yrs because I'm embarrassed what gamer stands for these days, I just class myself someone who enjoys a varied and unique experiences in media and entertainment industry.

@parasyte, Typical SJW response. You expect everyone to agree with you, and if they don't you EXPECT they should get banned.

Guess what, people have opinions. Some agree with you, and many do not. You cannot force people into submission and bend them to your "will.". That is how the Nazi's were born, and the SJW movement walks a scarily similar line.

Really? Well then enjoy your next transexual world war 2 game. The main character will be a woman who thinks she's a man, so takes testosterone to try to keep up with male soldiers. Don't think it will happen because it's not historically accurate? Neither is having female soldiers in a WW2 game. Or quite frankly any game since female front line soldiers haven't been a widespread thing till very recently. This is part of the "inclusion and diversity" narrative the post modern marxists are shoving down everyone's throat, and it's a pile of horse manure.

"maybe people don't want to play as female" That's not a controversy you nut. That's just those people, who have a weird issue. Red Dead Redemption wouldn't be a controversy just because you didn't want to play a western game.

Disagrees with your comment = the very people youre talking about in this piece. Those people = trash. I couldn't care less if anyone agrees with me or not. Everyone that visits this site knows exactly what you're talking about. I'm mainly speaking about the console war trash that goes around every article here.

Almost every forum, or site (game related) has a lot of fanboy comments. But censoring is very wrong, and I don't support that. Better modding sure, but I don't want mods like that site Resetera has. Only their narrowminded opinion matters, otherwise banned. This doesn't happen here AFIAK.

Plus, the problem is the articles aswell. Most of them are flamewar crappy stuff. Those things should be better checked.

So I haven't been signing into N4G lately specifically to stay away from the comments section lately, I still visit, but simply don't give into the comment bait you speak of. In a way I agree there is a toxicity, but with anonymity on the internet that simply just happens, you act like you have just found out some big problem with this site and then even have the ignorance to use Battlefield V as an example. Shows exactly how little you understand. N4G isn't the only place with a big negative reaction twords Battlfeild V, just check the comments on the Youtube video. Not to mention it has more dislikes then likes, so your claim that the negativity on N4G needs to be censored is nothing short of lunacy. Who has the right to say one opinion is right over the other? Obviously the majority of people disagree with you on the Battlefield V point including myself. They themselves say the game is based on WW2, so don't go rewriting history and put women with prosthetic arms on the front lines, simple as that, they could just make it alternate history but no, they want to pander to sjw's, that is literally all it is, and if you see it as anything more then that you are simply wrong, you can be okay with it, and that can be your opinion, but that doesn't change what it is. Then you want to censor these comments? How about my comment right here? Is this not okay? Where will the line be drawn? Self righteous egotistical people like you trying to silence all opposing views perfectly sums up what is going on in america right now. Simply pathetic, you need a safe space? Then avoid talking to literally anyone on any site, there saved you a lot of trouble.

Going to have to disagree, while there are some stories with headlines meant to rile up fanboys they are very few that pop up on here.

It's usually a review or an opinion piece that fanboys don't agree with that they then rush in to proclaim it as Clickbait, start to rage on the author, pick apart his grammar, claim journalism is dead or tear each other's throats out for anyone who agrees with the article.

This is of course until an article pops up that agrees with their views...then all is forgiven.

Clickbait has now become the word to use when you don't agree with something.

So basically, this article is along the lines of: "I disagree with your opinion and am unable to argue your points with facts or reason, so mods need to ban you. Also, you are immoral for disagreeing..."

IMO I think that both sides can just argue the merits of their argument, and this site VERY frequently allows that, you just seem to be upset that the arguments you like are more often not as strong.

Obviously there are trolls and people who go too far, but that is on both sides of the table and exists on any site, this article just doesn't flush with what I see generally TBH.

Using your BFV example, many people think shoe-horning women into a game based on a historical event where they didn't exist to give the illusion of gender equality is just propaganda and is not actually improving gender equality, it is just a show to make them (and those who also do similar things) look holier than thou. These same people are the ones who frequently have rampant abuse of women and the highest ACTUAL pay gaps in their studios. (just like hollywood)

The reality is adding women or making character fit a certain diversity narrative does nothing to any real or perceived issue, so that is why people call the moves white-knighting, SJW, etc. They are not only fictional moves, but completely ingenuous and require no real sacrifice or action from the devs or people supporting such causes, while giving the most ability to brag/show-off how great they are for doing such things. While in reality are the main perpetrators to the issues in which they claim to be fighting in the gaming community and outside of it. (Eric shneiderman, harvey weinstein, even naughty dog, etc)

N4G has always been a cesspool. It's no different than YouTube or Disqus or Reddit or anywhere else on the Internet. It's just the culture. But my problem with N4G lies in the commitment to actual gaming. The majority of the articles that get hot are just nonsense. Rarely do i see actual gaming news, and if i do it usually catches no heat.

We live in a TMZ world i suppose, a Kardashian riddled land where people waste away filling their heads with junk. I love gaming, i'm not in it for the headlines. An excellent game called Omensight just released and i commented in almost every article, but sadly nobody else did. There is a great wide world out there, there is actual news, i wish people would actually care.

I will admit that while i try and engage in civil discussions about various gaming topics on this site i have occasionally been part of the problem. Most of the time on here it just feels like we don't enjoy the same hobby. just like films, books and other media, video games or subjective and i think it's important to respect others views. i have often thought about ways to improve the comment sections on here like maybe only being able to comment on a article about a certain platform if you sign in with your username linked to that platform but that's obviously far from perfect. the n4g moderators definitely need to crack down on clickbait articles, that would be a step in the right direction

There has been something similar in the past, but I don't think it was carried out properly. We need a rating system for websites. Websites that have high ratings will have their articles always featured above articles from websites that have less reputation. Once rep drops to a certain level, a website loses its ability to post anything.

As for comments, I think we need to have mods giving infractions and banning those who intentionally go into an article for no other reason than to troll. For instance, going into a Gran Turismo post to boast about Forza or vice versa. Some discretion can be used here, for instance if someone takes the time to write up a well-written post detailing why they feel Gran Turismo doesn't quite stack up to Forza, and that post is free of inflammatory flamebait, that's different. If someone comes into the thread to post one or two lines to say "GT sux Forza 4ever paystation sucks xbox4life!!!", they should get an infraction.

Actually IP ban them when they do get banned.

You can also do like Facebook does, and if someone gets enough negative responses, if their thumb down to thumb up ratio falls below a certain number, then their comments get automatically hidden.

This site is only good for the back and forth of fanboys. I've not seen 1 professional article on this site it is basically just a scheme for people to drive traffic to their crummy sites. Man I wish joystik was still a rhing, now that was a site worth reading articles on

Even mentioning you enjoy something different than a, "certain", device here you get attacked, viciously. Which then starts eating away at your tolerance until you finally start acting like the very hate filled fanatics themselves.

Long story short, the longer you stay in this toxic environment, the more toxic you enivitably become. I've seen this from every single major poster here including me.

Very true. I hardly visit gaming sites anymore. It's mostly zealots bashing anyone who doesn't share their narrow console preference. It's toxic and rotten to the core. I used to enjoy discussing videogames with other gamers, but finding good discussion that isn't riddled with console war crap is getting harder and harder to do.

Professional trolling in order to spread divisiveness and polarizing opinions has become a real widespread issue, that combined with inormal trolls has created a polluted atmosphere that contaminates discussions everywhere, not just gaming forums. It's sad and not sure what the solution is.

Unfortunately I do not see anything changing. Until admins start stepping in a banning or deleting comments form those who have no interest, other than to hate, on specific platforms nothing will change. Genuine discussions on this site are near impossible. You can't be a fan of multiple platforms as there is generally only 1 company that can be liked. Everything else receives a huge amount of hate. The only solution would be for admin to start moderating comments and banning users who continuously comment on articles where their primary aim is to hate. A lot of users continuously do this and they are easily identifiable by their history. The problem with this is that if they step in they would lose a large percentage of their regular commenters. As for fanboys I have no real issue with someone being a devoted fan, but their comments should remain on relevant articles about the rand they love, not as I said spreading hate on those they dislike.

I going to have to stop you right there. Given the current trend of shoehorning female characters into movies and games without any real context can you really blame people for thinking DICE is catering to SJWs?

N4g was annoying before 2 years ago, but the Trump era just made people think they can be even bigger a**holes than ever before. Racism, hatred of women, etc is the most primitive crap. The fruits of this were manifested way back. I remember how Naughty Dog once had to call security on a paid game tester because of how balistic he went when he saw the Nadine vs Nate fight in Uncharted 4 (angry that it had a woman who could fight). Insane. No wonder we see all of these loser incels and alt right simpathizers going around doing mass murders and shooting up schools. Now we can't even go to a gaming site without dealing with these no-lifers in the comment section.

N4G has always been a cesspool dependant on who you talk to and the flavor of the month (Whatever consol/PC is doing well)!

There are fanboys and there are logical well thought out commenters. The question is how is that any different from anything or anywhere in the world!? Just because a persons views doesn't match up or align up with yours, doesn't make theirs wrong or less valid.

I've been on this site a while as well, but find it funny how so many developed amnesia and have automatically disqualified an entire generation! I'm speaking of last generation! The only thing that has changed, is the shoe is just on the other foot!!!

I'm usually right with you guys, trying to call out devs for pandering, but with BFV, you're just plain wrong. The "us vs them" stuff needs to stop, so we can all have real conversations about it, instead of being shouted down.

In the case of BF5, it's either you agree with the SJW agenda, or you're a racist, sexist white guy. There is no "I disagree with you on somethings, but this is my opinion..." it's a "fck your opinion, mine is valid because I'm not a sexist person!"

I've also been here a while, not longer than some, but long enough to see the ebb and flow of the cesspool. This blog ironically calling it to attention, is adding to the problem. Funny.

They can, and MOST (not all) who don't like it, just dislike it because it is not historically accurate, and seems like propaganda. (Personally, I don't care, just standing up for the right to the opinion that it is distasteful)

I have not seen anyone saying DICE, or any other dev, cannot add women to a war where they were not on the battlefield, just people that don't like it, which is fine IMO.

You guys are complaining that people dislike the choice, and are exercising their rights to criticize and potentially not buy the product due to such. Whereas you and the author wants opposing views to your own to be censored because you don't like what they have to say, to the point of actually insulting them baselessly and claiming they only have those views because they are sexists, racists, etc.

"Your saying they're forcing their agenda but at the same time your trying to force your agenda."

Disagreeing with a choice is not forcing an agenda, and frankly neither is what DICE is doing. You are actually contradicting your own defense of DICE by indicting anyone who voices an opinion opposing DICE's choice...

Avernus, what? Who brought op anything about white males? Projecting... I'm getting tired of people using SJW just becuase people eant diversity. Many great people in the past would have been considered SJWs, MLK, Ghandi, etc.

On topic, N4G has had issues, but has gotten worse. Maybe more admin are needed. The old bubble system worked in a way to keep trolling down to a point.

"The old bubble system worked in a way to keep trolling down to a point."

No the bubble system allowed a small group to silence anyone whose opinion they didn't like while expanding the ability to post for those they agreed with.

"Many great people in the past would have been considered SJWs, MLK, Ghandi, etc."

Interesting, MLK said he wanted people to be judged on the content of their character NOT the color of their skin. He did not want people to be grouped in or identified by their gender alone. He didn't believe race or gender to be a merit, just that there should be no implicit discrimination or IMPOSED inequality based on discrimination. (ie. Equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome as many seem to exclaim) That said, honestly, I could care less, it is a game, just pointing out that those complaining not only have legitimate complaints, but that they have nothing to do with racism or sexism. Especially considering there are hundreds, even thousands of games with female characters many of which are leads, then add games with character creation and it is hard to take the whining seriously.

That said, women being represented isn't the point here anyway, the issue is that they are on a battlefield that they were not in actual history, in a game presenting an actual war. In fact, I have see more people upset about the fact she has a stupid hook than about the woman, for the same reason, it doesn't match the historical context of the event it claims to represent.

Ghandi, well, not sure what he had to do with the issues in this article or comments at all really, but maybe I am just missing your point there.

@GottaBjimmyb I'd suggest people have a hard time being convinced there's a 'historically accurate' argument when earlier editions of the game you can jump out of fighter planes, snipe in mid-air, then land in a helicopter. It makes the, 'oh, but would a woman really be fighting there at that time' sound a little feeble.

I assume that Sayai Jin was implying Ghandi would be considered an SJW as he fought against the status quo to improve things for a section of society which was discriminated against.

Whenever I read articles/blogs/comments like this, I just want to tell people maybe they should take a break from the internet. Also to not take things so personally.

While I do agree that the there is a lot of vitriol around here, it's only a cesspool if people want to take things personally, and it seems too many people seem to think that the "attacks" from random people on the internet somehow causes them harm.

It's a gaming site. There isn't really any place that's any better....unless you just want an over-moderated forum where the course of discussion tends to only go the way the mods want, and the narrative is always skewed.

I won't lie. I've had my moments where I tend to get too into it, and feel the need to be more hostile. I can be more stern in my assertions against certain users without actually being pissed off though, and for the most part, it's rare that I'm offended by what people say, even when they make things personal.

The most annoying thing about the net, and talking about games, is people will make things personal against a poster, instead of actually addressing the arguments being made. Which again, I'll admit, I'm guilty of doing sometimes.

It isn't about views aligning or matching up, because that doesn't create any drama. It is because some users feel whatever is said doesn't align with what was said that they feel angered, threatened and just overall toxic that they need to go on the defensive where it becomes are screaming match as if it's personal.

I don't bother commenting half the time anymore, i didn't look at any of the BFV drama, I'm just talking about the fanboy crap which is prevalent on pretty much every popular article. Lots of people can't just focus on the topic or ignore articles that don't interest them, it's like a echo chamber of negativity that i admit to getting caught up in it at times.

I don't think it's bad for the industry. The negativity has risen over the years, but so have sales for gaming, and gaming is booming.

Bad for the community depends on how seriously people take the community. However, with all the vitriol. it means the community isn't taken as seriously by the industry, which isn't good. When the community does stand up and speaks with mostly one voice, then the industry does tend to listen. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen that often.

I do agree that most of the content on here is pretty meaningless, and is really just there to be a jumping board for discussion. But the content itself is mostly just filler, because real news doesn't happen that often in the industry.

When I say bad for the industry, I mean take a look a review scores for example, reviewers have their own agenda, alliances, loyaltys, review scores can be at both ends of the spectrum, a good game can be talked about as a bad game or vice versa depending which news thread you read it on. Reviews are someone’s opinion but it can be a poor and inaccurate view, again bad for the industry and the metric score is reduced, the amount of rubbish is damaging.

That's a different matter from this particular site being vitriolic though. The media itself is certainly vitriolic, but so is most journalism nowadays.

I think fan boys, or at least the community can indeed affect sales, but it's more usually over things that the community agrees on. However, there are times when it can happen when it really shouldn't. I'd even give examples, but I know that it'd just end up getting responses on why those things were perfectly justified.

Who says you should have the freedom to comment whatever you want on a site like this, or any other site for that matter without any consequence? This is supposed to be an aggregate news site, not a cesspool for fanboys.